Adrift (2008)

I wasn’t expecting very much from this episode when I saw the trailer last week. Especially with that PC bloke that Gwen worked with when she was in the police. But I have to admit that I was wrong, this episode had the same emotional impact and dramatic quality that Adam had earlier in the series.

This was a Gwen episode really as she got involved with what seemed like a missing persons case. Soon she discovered that the rift is picking these people up out and it turns out that some are return but mentally disturbed from what they have seen. The biggest revelation is that we see a new side to Jack because he has been hiding the base that the rift survivors return to obviously for some time, we learned more about him in the last few episode than we have since he made his debut in Doctor Who. The scene where Johan is reunited with his mum was a fantastically emotional moment as there had only been seven months but he must have aged 30 or 40 years.

There were some scenes that I thought was unnecessary, the scene where Gwen walks in on Ianto and Jack and its obvious what they are doing. I just thought that it detracted from what was a fine plot with good direction and nice shots. The other thing I liked what that there was more Rhys, he is a character that is growing on me as he doesn’t seem so stupid and childlike as he did in Series 1. He seemes to have some fantastic scenes with Gwen.

From Out of the Rain (2008)

This story is from Peter J Hammond who had penned Small Worlds from Series 1 and I have to say that I think that this story is better. The setting was absolutely spot on, the rain and the night both helped create an imaginative and visual episode.

The main baddie was very eerie and very good. It was nice to see another part of Jack’s past even though the storyline with Ianto and Jack is starting to get a bit dull and repetitive.

I like the idea that the Night Travellers are seeking revenge for Cinema killing the freak show. Another aspect that I liked was that the ghosts of the victims are some sort of trophy, I thought that it was a well used idea. The whole story had a touch of elegance which is something that you don’t get very often in drama, the the way the shots were done and some of the locations were lovely to look at.

Unusally the episode seem Tosh light which may be explained in future episodes but to be honest I didn’t notice until about 35 minutes in. John Barrowman was as usual on good form along with Eve Myles and Gareth David Lloyd but Burn Gorman seemed to be the happiest and most relaxed throughout the entire episode. Julian Bleach (a name we will get to know quite well I think) was the best of the guest cast as the Ghost??, he was scary but not OTT.

An Enjoyable episode.

Brave New Town (2008)

2008 TOMS TARDIS AWARD WINNER

• Best Eighth Doctor Adventure

This was a bizarre story from Jonathan Clements who had previous written the 2007 story Immortal Beloved. The story is set in what it made to look like a traditional English village with inhabitants who are living the same day over and over again. Its soon obvious that al is not what it seems. It turns out that The Doctor and Lucie have infact materialised in Uzbekistan. It Is then revealed that the inhabitants are infact Autons who aren’t the sort of Autons we all know but Autons who seem to want to be more like humans. By the end of the adventure the Autons are treated like Asylum Seekers.

This story isn’t as good as Dead London and Max Warp because it seems to lack any tension or actual drama. Whereas Clements previous attempt had a bit of drama in it this one seemed to not have any pace to it. There just wasn’t any tension which was a shame because a story which features the Autons for the first time ever should have had been a bigger and better story. The actors in this story were as good as they could be considering the quality of the script. Paul McGann and Sheridan Smith were Its was revealed in the Extras section at the end of the story that Jonathan Clements isn’t a Doctor Who fan which is why it feels a bit distant.

This story isn’t a good as the previous stories from the series and is a let down from the good Immortal Beloved.

Cuddlesome (2008)

This special release for Doctor Who Magazine sees The Fifth Doctor battling cuddly teddy bears. Now normally this would be a big cause for concern but as I was listening to it the concern quickly disappeared. The idea that there were teddy bears that could kill reminded me of the 1971 Jon Pertwee adventure ‘Terror of the Autons’.

The plot was quick and constant, the revelation of what the cuddlesome’s reason for all the evilness was different but plausible. It set the story up and concluded in a satisfactory way and by the end of it I felt that I enjoyed the story. Peter Davison was great as the Doctor and his Doctor was on top form. Roberta Taylor who is more famous for starring in the ITV drama The Bill and had appeared in the 2000 play The Holy Terror was the best guest star in this play as the temporary companion Angela Wisher. Timothy West who had appeared in the BBC7/Eighth Doctor play Phobos (2007) was not far behind as the creator of the Cuddlesomes. David Troughton, son of the Second Doctor Patrick, was also good as The Tinghus.

Enjoyable Stuff

A Day in the Death (2008)

Joseph Lidster is a man known to many in the Doctor Who fandom. He has written many Big Finish audios such as The Rapture, The Reaping and Terror Firma so I was looking forward to his episode before the storyline with Owen was even aired. This episode marks the third and final appearance of Martha in this series. It also marks the third episode of the Owen’s Dead storyline and it isn’t as good as the previous two episodes. The idea of telling a story in flashback might seem perfectly normal with shows like Lost using it frequently but for a British drama and a Sci-Fi one like Torchwood it is quite rare. Throughout the episode you get the impression that Owen is going to kill himself with some women that he has just met but by the end and after seeing everything in the episode you realise that he is actually trying to save her.

The first part of the episode was just Owen trying to get used to being dead was enjoyable as it didn’t get to dull or repetitive. The funniest moment was when he was watching To Buy or Not To Buy on the TV and his reaction was the same as everybody who hates daytime telly. The only thing that I thought was boring was the Tosh/Owen thing. Its obvious that they are going to get together so why bother having them not so. The star of the episode was Richard ‘The Good Life’ Briers who played a dying recluse who’s brief appearance was the turning point for Owen and was quite powerful.

Whilst this episode isn’t as strong as the previous two it was still an entertaining 50 minutes of drama. Richard Briers was a good guest star with a subtle yet powerful performance and Freema Agyemen was also very good as Martha. It’s a shame that she left now because I think with a few more episodes she could have become even better. But the performance of the episode was Burn Gorman who was absolutely brilliant. His acceptance of being dead was well played and shows a new side to the role.

A good episode that continues to maintain the great quality of the series